Ohio State basketball notebook: Sullinger, Thomas undecided

Sophomores yet to commit either way on future at OSU

Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoKYLE ROBERTSON | DISPATCH“If something good happens, I’ll look into it and go from there,” says Deshaun Thomas, right, about whether he will return for his junior season or enter the NBA draft.

NEW ORLEANS -- No official word yet on whether or not Jared Sullinger has played his final basketball game for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Sullinger, a two-time All-America forward, said after OSU's 64-62 loss to Kansas in the Final Four last night that he hasn't decided if he'll return for a junior season or leave school to enter the NBA draft in June.

"I'll probably sit down with my family and coaches and talk things over," Sullinger said. "I don't have a definite decision yet. We'll see when the time is ready."

OSU coach Thad Matta isn't certain about the future plans of Sullinger, who lead the Buckeyes in scoring and rebounding this season.

"He and I haven't even talked about next year," Matta said. "We'll talk when we get back. As always, I want what's best for the kids."

Sophomore forward Deshaun Thomas, the second-leading scorer for the Buckeyes, was vague about his intentions when asked if he'll return to OSU next season.

"What ever happens for me happens," Thomas said. "If something good happens, I'll look into it and go from there."

Last year, Sullinger immediately announced after a Sweet 16 loss to Kentucky that he was returning to Ohio State even though he was considered an NBA lottery draft pick at the time because of his stellar freshman season.

The Columbus native made no such announcement last night, but didn't shy away from a question about what he'll take away from his time at OSU.

"My teammates and my coaches," he answered. "They made me a better person off the court and a better player on the court. I would tell people not to take it for granted as far as this team. They know what it takes to make it to the Final Four. Next year, if they work harder than we worked this year, they may well win the whole thing."

Long goodbye

William Buford was still in his OSU uniform past midnight, an hour after the game ended, as if he didn't want to take if off for the final time.

"It's over -- my last college game for me," Buford said in a tone of disbelief. "I've been playing college basketball for four years and now it's over. It's crazy."

Buford scored 19 points last night to finished his career with 1,990 -- tying Jerry Lucas for third place on OSU's all-time scoring list.He surpassed Kelvin Ransey as the school's all-time leader in field goal attempts (1,689).

"I don't know if I can put into words what he's meant to this program," Matta said. "I watched him mature, watched him grow as a person, watched him grow as a player. I'm proud of him. I'm happy for him. He's helped us build this basketball program into something special."

Questions about his poor shooting have followed William Buford like a bloodhound of late, but the Ohio State senior guard took the queries in stride heading into last night. He said all he cared about was winning.

Buford had been mired in an offensive slump since he scored 25 and hit the game-winning shot against Michigan State in the regular season finale.

The Toledo native entered the Kansas game having made only 25 of 78 shots (32 percent) in three Big Ten tournament games and four NCAA tournament games. He had made just 12 of 44 three-point attempts (27 percent) in the nine games before last night.

Buford found his shooting stroke against the Jayhawks. He made six of 10 shots from the field -- including three of five three-pointers -- and all four of his free throw attempts to finish with a team-high 19 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds.

"I'm happy we made it this far, but I would have loved to have made it to the championship game," Buford said. "Hopefully I can go down as one of the greatest ever to play at Ohio State, If that would be my legacy, that would be great."

No answer

Aaron Craft said the referees gave him no explanation on the lane violation called against him when the point guard retried his own rebound on his intentional miss of a second free throw with OSU trailing by two points with two seconds left.

"Apparently I crossed before I hit the rim," the sophomore said.

Craft made his first free throw to draw the Buckeyes within 64-62.

"I knew I had to miss it and I felt that was the best way for us to get the ball back," he said.

Craft fired his second free throw at the rim on purpose. The ball struck the front of the rim and ricocheted directly to him as he dashed into the lane.

"I thought Aaron made a great read on it," Matta said.

Referees stopped play and called the lane violation before he could attempt a potential game-tying shot.

A photo showed Craft's body crossing the free throw line before the ball struck the rim, which is a lane violation.

Kansas quickly inbounded the ball after the lane violation and OSU was unable to foul before the game's final two seconds ticked off.

"We weren't set to where we needed to be," Matta said. "They quick inbounded on us and we didn't have it."

Back trouble

Matta, who suffers from a chronic back injury and drop foot, had a scary moment after the game when he nearly fell after tripping over TV cable wires.

Television crews had moved their equipment into the hallway outside OSU's locker room after the game to do a one-on-one interview with Craft. Matta, wearing his ankle-foot brace orthosis, was trying to leave to go to his post-game press conference when his foot got caught in the wires.

The trip caused Matta to lean forward, a movement that always causes him pain. He took one step to regain regain his balance, but was in noticeable discomfort. The coach returned to the locker room for several minutes of treatment.

Matta said he didn't require pain-killing medicine. "All I had to do was calm (my back) down," said Matta, who didn't require pain-killing medicine.

Unhappy campers

Angry Confusion and chaos surrounded the student ticket distribution for the Final Four yesterday morning, according to an Ohio State senior who spent his morning waiting in line in an overcrowded parking garage at the Superdome.

Jeff Seiger was one of the first Ohio State students in line when he showed up at 4:30 a.m. Saturday at the Superdome, where nearly 2,800 students from the four participating schools – OSU, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisville – gathered to collect their discounted $25 tickets.

Under the first-come-first-served system, the earliest “campers” were supposed to have the best chance to secure lower-bowl tickets, but it did not turn out that way, said Seiger, who ended up with a seat in the upper arena.

“It was the worst distribution of tickets I’ve seen in my life,” said Seiger, who described the scene as “a big stampede” after word spread that students were instead supposed to form a line outside the parking garage. “The original email we received said the first 355 in line would get floor seats, but that’s not how it worked out. I know people were furious.”

The rush of people in and out of the garage created a chaotic and potentially dangerous situation, Seiger said.

“People were falling, because there was one little ramp to get into the garage,” he said. “I saw a couple people slip, and I got shoved.”

Seiger said another Ohio State student suffered abrasions on his hands.

A representative of the NCAA ticket sales company said on-site Superdome personnel were responsible for making sure the ticket distribution went smoothly.

Dan Wallenberg, Ohio State assistant athletic director for communications, said tempers flared during the ticket dispersal, but it was nothing specific to OSU students.

“And it is an NCAA issue, if it is an issue at all,” he wrote in a text message.

Amazing scene

The Superdome attendance of 73,361 for the double-header yesterday was the second-largest crowd to attend the Final Four in NCAA tournament history.

OSU assistant coaches Chris Jent and Jeff Boals scouted Kentucky's 69-61 win over Louisville from court-side seats. Jent had a unique perspective on yesterday's Final Four atmosphere because he played in the NBA Finals.

"This is phenomenal," Jent said. "It really is a life experience. You really have to soak it in. It's an amazing event."

Jent, a former OSU player, was a member of the Houston Rockets when they won the 1994 NBA championship by defeating the New York Knicks in Game 7 of the finals.

"That was obviously very intense and gratifying," Jent said. "But this is very different from the sense that I only spent the very end of the NBA season with the Rockets. I'm much more invested in this team having spent the year with them. I went to Ohio State and being a Buckeye and being here with them is great."

This and that -- Matta decided to let his players stay in New Orleans most of today so they could enjoy some more of the Final Four atmosphere. The OSU team is scheduled to fly home at 5 p.m. . . . Kansas out-rebounded OSU 42-30. The Buckeyes had been grabbing an average of 7.7 more rebounds than opponents. The Jayhawks were only the seventh team to out-rebound OSU this season in 39 games. . . . Robinson missed five of his first six shots and had only two points as OSU built a 19-11 lead 11 minutes into the game. The Kansas all-america forward scored seven of 12 shots and scored 17 points in the game's final 29 minutes. . . . OSU had more turnovers (12) than assists (11). The same was true for the Jayhawks, who had 17 turnovers and 14 assists . . . After holding Kansas to 36.7 percent shooting in the first half, the Buckeyes allowed the winning team to make 14 of 26 shots (53.8 percent) after halftime. . . . The Buckeyes were 27-1 when leading at halftime before blowing last night's 34-25 halftime lead. The nine-point halftime deficit was the second-largest overcome in a NCAA tournament semifinal game. . . . OSU received zero points from its reserves for the fifth time. Kansas got only three points from its bench. . . . The 15 blocked shots (eight by Kansas and seven by OSU) were the most in an NCAA tournament semifinal game. The previous record was 14, set by Kansas (nine) and Duke (five) in 1988. . . . Kansas coach Bill Self is 3-0 in the Final Four, including a national championship at Kansas in 2008. Matta is 1-2 in the Final Four.